Before you go telling me you don’t like tofu- hear me out! I myself am not a huge fan of tofu. The texture has always been kind of off putting to me and I’m not dependent on it for protein, so I hardly ever buy it or eat that much of it. But a few weeks back I came across this method of baking tofu that allows you to make it really crispy. The process is super simple, just some extra draining (similar to strained yogurt( and a solid bake time are all that’s needed. I’m a huge fan of it in this Thai quinoa bowl. Yes you could totally do chicken or even scrambled egg, but I love the crunch of the tofu nuggets against the rest of the ingredients. That and it soaks up this addictive sauce really well. The other great thing is that this dish works just as well hot as it does cold- making it the perfect thing to have on hand for healthy lunches throughout the week!

Thai Tofu Quinoa Bowls adapted from How Sweet It Is

For the quinoa:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 package extra firm tofu ( 15 oz), diced
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2/3 cup chopped scallions
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon Srircha
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 lime, juice
• 1  teaspoon grated ginger

30 Minutes Before Cooking: Drain and rinse the block of tofu. Wrap it in a clean dish towel (or paper towels), and place it on a rimmed dinner plate. Place another plate on top and weight it down with something heavy, like a can of tomatoes or a heavy skillet, to press out some of the excess liquid. Let sit 15 – 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Toss the tofu, soy sauce, and sesame oil in bowl. Place the tofu in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes tossing every ten minutes to crisp the tofu on all sides.

Toast the quinoa: Place a medium sized saucepan on medium low heat. Add in the dry quinoa and toast for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and nutty in scent. Add in the broth, lower heat slightly, cover, and cook for 12-15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Fluff quinoa with a fork once cooked, and set aside.

Make the sauce: Place the peanut butter in the bowl first and throw in the microwave for 10 seconds to melt slightly. Add in remaining ingredients and whisk well to combine. Set aside.

Toast the almonds: Place the almonds, sesame seeds, and vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Cook or medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the almonds are a deep golden brown.

Toss together the quinoa, vegetables and herbs, tofu, and 3/4 of the nut mixture. Pour over the sauce and toss well to combine. Spoon into bowls, top with remaining nuts, extra lime and Sriracha if desired. Can be stored in fridge up to one week.

For Christmas my Mom surprised me with Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook, Plenty. This book has been talked about a lot, made famous by its mouthwatering vegetarian recipes. Here’s the thing about Ottolenghi, he has an incredible knack for crafting vegetarian dishes, but is not actually a vegetarian himself. Perhaps, though, that’s what makes him so successful. Thumbing through the book, I was blown away by what he could do with greens, grains, and beans. It was nearly impossible to choose just one dish to make last week. I wanted everything, right then and there!

The dish I chose, and for which I’ve shared the recipe below is a great one, but that’s not the main point of this post. A few weeks back I talked about meat- how we buy it, and why we’re eating less of it. Some of you expressed that you’d like to cook more vegetarian meals but struggle with constructing full, protein rich entrées. I definitely struggle with this too, but I really think it’s just a matter of getting more creative, and expanding what you do with certain ingredients.  That said, Ottolenghi has done all the work for you in this book. If you’re searching for vegetarian recipes that go well beyond the norm, I urge you- buy this book. And even if you’re not, get it anyway, because the things Ottolenghi does with ingredients are so inspiring, whether you’re cooking with meat or not it deserves a spot on your bookshelf.

I’ll be sharing lots more of his recipes over the next few weeks, so if you’re not completely convinced on the book yet- there’s much more to come!

Lentils with Tomatoes and Feta slightly adapted from Plenty

Serves 4
The original recipe called for Castellucio lentils and gorgonzola cheese. I had feta in my fridge that I needed to use up and was confident it would be a good replacement for the Gorgonzola (it was), and as for the lentils, Castelluccio lentils aren’t the easiest thing to find in your grocery store, so I used Puy which turned out fine.  If you’d like to Castelluccio lentils, I recommend trying  a specialty foods market or looking online.

• 5 plum tomatoes, quartered
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 4 T olive oil
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp flaked sea salt (1/2 tsp regular salt)
• 1 1/3 cup dried green lentils
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• black pepper
• 3 T chopped parsley
• 3 T chopped chives
• 4 T chopped dill
• 3 oz feta crumbled

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the tomatoes on the paper skin side down. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.  The sprinkle with the dried thyme and salt. Roast for 1 1/2 hours until semi-dried. Let cool.

Place the red onion in large bowl.  Pour over the red wine vinegar and sprinkle with sea salt. Stir and let rest while you prepare the rest of the dish.  This allows the onion to soften a bit.

Place the lentils in a pan of boiling water (the water should come 1 1/4 inches above the lentils) and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender.  Drain well, and while still warm, add to the sliced onion.  Next add in the remaining olive oil, garlic, and a some black pepper, and stir gently to combine.  Let rest until cool.  Once cool, add the herbs and gently mix together. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.

To serve, pile the lentils on a large plate or bowl, integrating the feta and tomatoes as you build up the pile.  Drizzle the tomato cooking juices on top and serve.